


Access Marvel

by ChibiFoxAI



Series: In Which Dick Grayson somehow ended up on Earth-616 and still visits [1]
Category: Amalgam Comics, Batman - All Media Types, Batman Incorporated (Comics), DCU (Comics), Marvel (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: And ends up scaring many people, And has a secret double life, And has some bad blood with the X-Men, Batman Incorporated #8 Fix Fic, Dick has the coolest secret base ever, Everyone wonders who let Wade out, In which Dick Grayson puts his foot down, Jason is a snarky little git, Multi, PreReboot/New52 mix, References to Mirage/Tarantula, The Batfam does not approve of Dick's choice in lovers, They need to get Tim away from Asgardian Tech, everybody lives au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-08-22
Packaged: 2018-01-25 13:12:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1649858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiFoxAI/pseuds/ChibiFoxAI
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU crossover fix fic concerning Damian's fate so far in the New 52.</p>
<p>“My dear little brother, have you ever wondered where I go whenever I seemingly “disappear” from the planet for months on end?”</p>
<p>In which Dick is one of the handful of people in existence to remember the events of Amalgam and has a habit of visiting Earth-616 on occasion. So when Talia demands for the return of her son, where better than to stash Damian and get reinforcements?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction/Dick's Breaking Point

**Author's Note:**

> This here is a cross-over “Fix Fic” that I have had in mind for a long time, and I have mercilessly bugged people with details about this fic (thank you all for putting up with me), yet never had the true motivation to write it. I am taking several liberties with the New 52 Batman Inc, but setting it in the pre-reboot universe. I have taken inspiration to do this from the old Amalgam Comic series and the new Son of Batman movie. I am also taking some liberties with “comic book time” since what happens in a 3 month real life saga is only like a week in the comic world. Confusing yet keeps us reading. This AU begins a little after Bruce announces that Damian is going to return to Talia. Anyway, without further ado, here is Access Marvel!

For the last twenty-some years of his life, Richard “Dick” John Grayson had put up with more than his lion’s share of issues. He was the first kid sidekick in the hero world, breaking the mold for the generations of younger heroes that came and went. He founded the teenage hero team the Teen Titans at the tender age of thirteen and was appointed leader in almost every incarnation of the team afterwards. He had seen more fighting, crime, and death than most people his age. Needless to say he had issues; most of these issues stemming from the cowl-clad man in front of him.

Bruce Wayne. Gotham’s very own billionaire, genius, playboy philanthropist. Founding member of the Justice League. The Batman. The Dark Knight. Vengeance incarnate. The source of many of Dick’s issues that if he were to make into a parent tell-all book would have psychologist screaming to pick away at his childhood and brain to find out “How have you not killed this man yet?”

When Bruce took away Robin from him, Dick was angry. When Bruce “replaced” Dick with Jason Todd, Dick was furious and later, begrudgingly, understanding. When Bruce faked that his “Bruce Wayne” face was fake during the time he was wanted for murder, Dick was about to hand in his retirement forms and help the Kent’s on the family farm because _WHAT EVEN BRUCE_. When Bruce Wayne announced that he would be returning his youngest son Damian Wayne to Damian’s arguably psychopathic assassin mother Talia Al Ghul, Dick decided that enough was enough and that he was going to put his foot down, consequences be damned.

Dick Grayson had reached his snapping point.

“Do you actually have a plan this time, or are you going to just lay out your loved ones like pawns and gloat as everything miraculously plays out like you want it to as always?”

Multiple necks snapped in the direction of the black and blue clad vigilante. Alfred, the ever faithful butler, put down the tray of tea and quietly left the Batcave. Dick's younger brothers Tim and Jason, known as Red Robin and now Wingman, were staring at him with matching looks of disbelief.

“Dick, you have to understand-”

Dick cut off his adoptive father then and there, "No Bruce, I don’t understand. My simple little mind can’t possibly comprehend this screwed up plan that you have in store for the world. After all, the needs of your _precious_ city outweigh the needs of your family, especially that of your flesh and blood."

Bruce narrowed his eyes at his oldest child, "I don't know what has gotten in to you Dick. You know that this is the only way to get inside Leviathan and take it down. I know that you've read the files about the vision that I had. I saw my son cause the end of the world as Batman."

"I get it, you want to advert the freaking apocalypse, but did you ever think that all those memories you got from you trip in the time stream could be a self-fulfilling prophecy? That sending Damian back to Talia could result in that screwed up world? Did you know that she put machines in Damian’s spine and let Slade use him as a puppet to try and kill me while you were gone, and now you want to send him back to that? This is it Bruce; no more elaborate contingency plans, no more going soft on Talia because you had a thing with her, no more second chances for anyone affiliated with her. This is the Omega Plan Bruce, the end to Talia and any scum connected to her."

"Five bucks that his problems with Talia stem from her trying to take away his DaddyBats as a kid." Jason elbowed a rather unamused Tim in the side.

"Actually the first time I met Talia and her dad I was kidnapped, held hostage by the League of Assassins in a bid for Bruce to accept Ra's offer about being is heir and marrying Talia, and then the two of them tried to have me killed in another attempt to sever all of Bruce's ties with the "lower class" and accept his so-called destiny as Talia's husband," Dick fixed his brother with a rather deadpan stare before shifting his gaze to Bruce, "I have a plan Bruce, a plan that I made with some _very_ powerful people backing me up on this, and like it or not I am going to use it. If you want to help out with this plan, then good for you. If not, then akana mukav tut le devlesa, Bruce. I leave you to God."

Dick turned towards the stairwell that his youngest brother had fled up to his room in the mansion, steeling himself to not look back at his remaining family, and taking extra care to slam the grandfather clock shut.

“I have no idea what the ever-loving hell just happened or what this plan of Goldie’s is,” Jason started, “but I just want to remind everyone that he was my brother first.”

Tim fixated on the slightly older man with a glare. “And you wonder why I’m your only friend.”

* * *

 

“Damain, you might want to get all of Titus’ and Alfred’s things because you know them better than me,” Dick had taken it upon himself to find some luggage and was stuffing Damian’s clothing and other necessities as quickly and orderly as possible.

“Richard-”

“There is no way I’m letting you go back to Talia. Not in a million lifetimes Li’l D. Plus, I believe that this will be an excellent bonding experience.”

“Richard, I doubt that vacationing someplace will stop Mother from tracking us down,” Damian pointed out from his seat at the end of his bed.

Dick stopped packing his little brother’s possessions and gave the boy a rather mysterious smile, “My dear little brother, have you ever wondered where I go whenever I seemingly “disappear” from the planet for months on end?”

Damian shot up and started packing the rest of his necessities.

* * *

Yeah this is my first time posting on AO3 since I'm mostly on FF.net so I hope that this introduction is enough to get people interested. Now that I have the intro out ot the way, it should be smooth writing from here on out.

If anyone wants to know what it is that Dick said to Bruce, it's the same thing that he said to Tarantula in the original Nightwing run.

 


	2. Welcome to Nightwatch and Access

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Access is both a DC Comics and Marvel Comics character. He was a central figure in DC vs Marvel and the Amalgam comics.

The car ride to Mount Gotham was rather short. Apparently Dick had actually broken a few speeding laws to get there, much to Damian’s surprise. What the current Robin could not understand was why they were going to the old abandoned Mount Gotham ski lodge. Damian made these thoughts known when as Dick hid the car in some foliage.

“Grayson I do not understand how nobody has traced you to this abandoned resort. Surely even the likes of Drake and his Kryptonian would be able to find you here.”

Dick gave a rather jaunty smile as they walked in through the front door, “I was able to buy this old place dirt cheap using one of my aliases to use as a safe house. So far, only the other founding Titans know about this place since Roy couldn’t keep his mouth shut when he crashed here once after his daughter…” Dick shook his head before spreading his arms out, “Anyway, welcome to the Nightwatch Li’l D!”

Damian looked around the lobby. He could tell that the place was cleaned regularly and that the furniture was new. He could safely assume that the bedrooms were newly furnished and cleaned as well. The junior assassin walked around the old counter and started rummaging through the keys before picking out the shiniest and most ornately decorated of the lot before tending to his luggage and animals.

“If I am going to be staying at this “Nightwatch” of yours Grayson, I should at the very least deserve the comfort and luxury of the Master Suite until Mother or Father arrive to take me away.”

“Damian, this place is like my version of Stately Wayne Manor.”

“Your point being?”

“What is under your house?”

Damian paused from placing their luggage on a rolling cart to look at his mentor in disbelief, “Richard, are you trying to tell me that you have a Batcave under this place?”

Dick went over to a photograph on the wall, or rather a rather old and faded Polaroid that was frame and mounted on the wall. Damian could clearly make out two males in the photograph, which had been taken when the lodge was still operational. One of them was clearly a younger Richard Grayson, while the other was surprisingly a younger Jason Todd.

“I brought Jason here once when this place was starting to close down. He had never been skiing before and Gotham didn’t get much snow that year. I was trying to make amends for how I acted around him,” Dick lifted the frame to expose an indent in the wall, which housed a black button with a blue bird on it. Upon pushing the button, the key rack Damian had been inspecting earlier moved aside to reveal a set of metal doors with a key pad.

“After almost all of the Manor was destroyed by the Cataclysm, Bruce and I replaced a majority of the entrances to the Batcave when we rebuilt it. One of the means to get in was a set of poles that were behind the bookcase in Bruce’s study. We had to open a bust of William Shakespeare and turn a knob to open it. The grandfather clock was mostly used as an exit or Alfred’s entrance. Heck I was even able to salvage some old stuff from the original cave like mine and Bruce's chairs,” Dick entered a series of four numbers into the keypad, “While the poles might have been fun, I think an elevator would be the best for this day and age.”

Dick quickly ushered Damian and his animal companions into the elevator, “JARVIS would you please take us to Sublevel 10? Oh, and I would be grateful if we could have some snacks ready via Herbie 2.0s.”

A computerized voice came from the overhead speaker inside the elevator, **“Of course sir. I assume that you are contacting Master Axel according to the text you sent earlier?”**

“Yes I am. If you could get out a bottle of something strong for the meeting, it would be most appreciated.”

“Grayson why do you have an AI that sounds like Pennyworth?”

Dick smiled, “Damian, meet my Just A Really Very Intelligent System. JARVIS, meet my younger brother.”

 **“Delighted I’m sure.”** The AI intoned, **“All I ask is that you watch over your pets. The Roombas and Herbie 2.0s are not equipped to deal with animal waste.”**

* * *

 

One audio tour of the Nightwatch via JARVIS and the master computer later, Damian was smitten with the place.

“I want to live here. I am intelligent enough to finish medical school within two years. Mother made sure of that. I will legally emancipate myself like Drake did and seclude myself here until Father is ready to hand over the Cowl. We have proven that we were the best partners Richard.”

“Dami-”

“You don't understand Richard, THIS shall be my Robin Cave.”

“It's the Nightwatch. It is the lair of the Nightwing. You are not the Nightwing. You did not grovel to your alien uncle about Bruce issues and get alien mythology recited to you for comfort and had the name of an old space god bestowed upon you.”

“Robin. Cave. You will be gone someday and this place shall be mine.”

“Damian no one in their right mind would give this place to a ten year old.”

“It shall be part of the legacy that you pass along to me since everyone else in our “family” has something that once belonged to you that were not taken in a bet,” Dick was about to mention his eskrima sticks but stopped, “Besides, Grandfather gave me an island for my eight birthday.”

“Hate to break it to you Damian, but half the heroes who know about Ra’s have placed bets on how long he’s been senile due to the Lazarus Pits. My money is on 400 years.”

Before Damian could retort, the AI perked up once again, **“Sirs, Master Axel has arrived. If you would make your way into the meeting sanctum, you will find him along with some biscuits made by your butler that you have stored along with some mead you acquired from the last Thor’s Day.”**

“Perfect. What type wood was the mead barrel?”

**“Oak sir.”**

“Thank you JARVIS. Tell him to help himself to the mead and cookies. I have to stop a cat from killing DJ Roomba.”

Damian looked at his brother with an eyebrow raised. “Meeting sanctum? Really Grayson?”

“It sounded more official and cooler than meeting room.”

* * *

 

“Red head. I knew it. What is it with your fascination with red heads Grayson?”

The man, presumably Axel, barked out a laugh. “So this is your baby brother? I like him already. A lot more than the two Reds. Also, he isn’t just red-head sexual kid. Has he ever told you about his fascination concerning people with metal arms?”

“What does Harper have to do with any of this?”

Dick choked on his tumbler of mead, “Can we leave my ex out of this?”

“Grayson! You dated Harper?”

“No I never dated Roy!”

“But-”

“Roy Harper is not the only one in the world with a metal arm,” Dick glared lightly at the smirking man in the red and blue armor, “You know, we should really get together like this more often rather than just you sucking me into the Dimension Flow and dropping me wherever I ask.”

“Are you going to wine and dine me if I do, Mr. Grayson?”

“You’re so lucky that the cosmos needs you alive Access.”

"And you're so lucky that your unofficial superpower is being able to make friends with almost anyone and get them to do your bidding," Axel, or rather Access, became serious. “The plan you and the Illuminati put together is finally needed, isn’t it? What kind of crisis is happening that you need to implement the Omega Plan?”

“Haven’t you seen what is going on in my world Mr. Omnipotent? We’re taking down Talia, Ra’s, Leviathan, pretty much anything connected to them. Don’t you remember how they were when they were amalgamized with-”

“I was just making sure you had the best interests of the world at heart Dick, not because you wanted to have some sort of inter-dimensional time-stream barbeque.”

Dick nodded, “Plus I need to hide Damian for a while.”

Access cocked his head slightly, “Darcy?”

“Darcy. If not Darcy, then I’ll grovel to Lady Sif to help me find someone in Asgard. It’s been a while since I visited.”

Access gave Dick a blank look, “You’ve been gone long enough for Jean to come back from the Hot Room. She’s having marital problems with Summers. Divorce looks imminent and Frost isn't helping with anything.”

“I know I didn’t visit when I was Batman but seriously _that_ long? Not surprised about the divorce thing. Killing Charles Xavier and causing a split in the X-Men does tend to put a cooler on a mutant marriage.” Dick swiveled his chair to look at Damian, "Baby Bird, get your stuff we're going to Asgard."

"Wait, what?"


	3. Asgard and Reunions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hints of some slash here, but nothing truly explicit.

The room Damian was led to was bare, the only decoration being a rather large rune circle in the middle of it floor. From the way Titus an Alfred were reacting to the room’s sigil, there was something supernatural afoot.

“I will open a pathway to Asgard for you. After that, it is your job to call upon Heimdall.” Access disappeared in a flash of light that seemed to activate the circle, causing it to light up blue while the ceiling started to glow white.

Damian held onto his cat as best he could while Dick dragged the Great Dane over to the middle of the circle. Dick then grabbed Damian’s shoulder and fisted a handful of the jacket the boy was wearing.

“Hang on tight everyone! Heimdall, whenever you are ready!”

A vortex of bright light engulfed the group and sucked them up, leaving the room bare and quiet once again.

* * *

 

Damian stumbled out of the vortex and into a bright copper room with a raised dais in the middle. On the dais stood a tall bearded man with glowing orange eyes, dressed in in golden armor. In his hands rested a large sword.

“Smooth as always Heimdall,” Dick smiled up at the man.

Heimdall smirked back, “It has been a great time since your last visit Richard,” his gaze wandered towards Damian, “I see that you have brought a friend.”

Dick smiled, “This is my youngest brother, Damian. With him are his companions Titus and Alfred. I must speak with Thor immediately; the fate of my world depends on it.”

Heimdall nodded gravely, “There is nothing that I do not see. I saw Access open the gate between our worlds for you and sent an urgent message to the Thunderer. He is expecting you.”

“He actually sent us to escort you,” Dick lit up with joy as looked over Heimdall’s shoulder to see Lady Sif and the Warriors Three approaching them.

Damian looked rather confused, “Grayson, why are Xena, Jackie Chan, Robin Hood, and the rather large hobbit here?”

“I’m more surprised that you just used pop culture references to describe the King’s personal guards and the greatest warrior of all the Nine Realms.”

* * *

 

When Damian first read of Thor as a child, he imagined a man with a long beard, loin cloth, and a hammer. This Thor was not like what he had imagined.

This Thor was fully armored and had a red cape that reminded him greatly of Superman, with great muscles evident under his mail. His hammer was holstered at his side and his hair was long and blond, his face clean-shaven. Upon his head was a helmet, silver and decorated with wings on each side.

“Richard, if has been many seasons since you last came to visit. You have been gone so long that the wife of Cyclops has come back to life,” He smiled at them from his throne, rushing down the steps to scoop Dick in a massive hug, “What a wondrous day! The Son of Gray has returned for a visit and fulfilled his promise to bring family with him!” Damian coughed as he was swept into the hug as well, “I say that this calls for a celebration!”

Dick pat his chest a few times before clearing his throat, “I wish I could say that this is a social call Your Highness, but I come for aid. A great enemy of both my father and myself, truly a cancer of my world, has set a plan into motion that will destroy my planet. I am proposing that we initiate the Omega Plan that the Illuminati Society and the Founding Avengers, which include yourself o gracious host and friend, in order to protect my world.

“Thor we have at least 27 hours to assemble everyone, get everyone up to date on what their roles are, get them to agree on everything, and get them to my universe. I beg of you, help me.”

Thor’s smile fell. Gone was the friend and now he was the comrade of battle, “How long will that take?”

“If I send out the emergency message to our allies now and have Heimdall summon them here, then it will take five hours to assemble everyone and get them up to speed about what is going on and what we are going to do. Then we'll have 22 hours to actually plan the attack, set it into motion, and make up excuses for their civilian lives and see what Maria can do about a defense force for Earth while you are gone. This isn’t just a battle, it is war. We are going against Leviathan and the League of Assassins.”

“…If it is going to be war, then we shall use the feasting hall to gather our comrades. I do believe that if we are going into unknown territory and might possibly die doing so, then at least humor me and take part in a feast here with your brother.”

“All I ask is that you do not give him mead. He’s barely 11.”

* * *

 

It took less than five hours for the dining hall to be filled with the world’s most powerful heroes, laughing, chatting, and mingling. Amidst the brightly colored clothes and conversation, Damian greatly felt out of place until Dick came over with a purple archer.

“Damian, this is Clint Barton. He goes by Hawkeye. We're circus bros.”

“…Clearly.”

Clint laughed, “So this is the little assassin that you were telling us about at the last meeting. He’s adorable.”

“You’re going to war because of me.”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist Helen.”

“If the reference to mythology is your futile attempt to console me-”

At this point Dick perked up and ran over to another hero, “Spiderman! My human-spring brother from another mother!”

Spiderman looked over to where Dick was waving before shooting a line of web and slinging over, landing in front of the acrobat, “You son of a bat, where have you been?”

* * *

 

“They are quite literally hopping around in a circle and pretending to shoot webbing at each other. Barton, the Man of Spiders is a horrible influence on Richard.”

Clint laughed, “That’s their not-so-secret handshake. Heck, just wait for Magneto and his family to show up.”

There were a few loud shrieks heard from the crowd.

“Never mind, Wanda found your brother.”

Damian could not hear what was being said between Dick and a rather attractive woman dressed in red, but he could at least read their lips.

_“Richard John Grayson would it kill you to visit more often?”_

_“Wanda Maximoff, would it kill you to at least call me or bring the moppets over once in a blue moon? Access works both ways you know!”_

“Most of these names are lost to me. Richard has apparently kept you a secret from the family.”

The purple archer did not look surprised and continued to sip at his drink, “Given what we have heard about your super paranoid and stubborn DaddyBats, I think that all of being treated like the secret mistress is a good thing.” He nudged the kid forward to where Dick was hugging a group of people predominately dressed in green, red, and some purple. “You might want to meet your brother’s extended inter-dimensional family. Come tomorrow, you’re gonna be with Darcy and Pizza Dog eating ice cream, watching old sitcoms, and gossiping over your brother’s ex.”

Damian shot Clint a rather confused look. “Between you, Access, Richard, and from what I have heard at this party, all I know is that my brother’s former paramour from this world was brunette, has a metal arm, is older than him, swear worse than Todd, and was an assassin. I do not know about anyone here and need more to go on for this lead, but I can tell that Grayson has good taste in this world’s women, unlike the Tamaranean he is smitten with back home.”

Clint’s face froze into a smile, “According to the Omega Plan that Dr. Strange and Stark cooked up with Wing, your brother Tim will be working with B.”

"Drake will need someone competent to protect him from my Mother," Damian rolled him eyes, “I will find a way to get away from this “Darcy” Mr. Barton, I assure you. This nickname of "B" has helped narrow down the suspect list.”

 


	4. Leviathan Begins to Unravels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the start of the Omega Plan that Dick has cooked up. Mostly Batfam centric with the team-ups really. While I already have some in mind, I am open to suggestions.

Damian was not impressed with Darcy Lewis one bit. Sure she was smart, pretty, and could deflect any insult that he threw at her (much to Dick’s horror), but after meeting the heroes at the “farewell” party in Asgard, he felt that being watched over by this woman was a serious demotion.

“Okay buddy, I got two tubs of Ben and Jerry ice cream and the tech people in Asgard was able to hook us up with a TV so we’re gonna watch all six seasons of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Dick told me you needed to learn more about the horror that was 90s fashion.”

“Did you ever date my brother? You two seem so alike it’s disturbing.”

Darcy waved a hand as if to dismiss the idea, “Nah. I helped him get over his "divorce" though.”

This got Damian’s attention, “Divorce?”

“I can’t really say that it was a real wedding since it was officiated by Deadpool who got ordained through a website and Dick and B were drunk at the time, but both the "marriage" and "divorce" quite the scandal in the hero biz for a while. The two pretty much got stockholmed into a relationship and are still close friends, but every friendship has its ups and downs. Then again faking your death after getting shot by the Red Skull’s daughter to go back into covert-ops and having fun time with a former lover does tend to scream annulment.”

“Name the harlot so that I may punish her for breaking Richard's heart.”

“James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, the Winter Soldier.”

“…Lewis, the Winter Soldier is a man.”

“Yup.”

Damian could feel the mother of all headaches coming along as his brain attempted to reboot itself, “…Ice cream first please. I will finish my plans of escape and return to my world once my life starts making sense again.”

“Strawberry or chocolate?”

“I will be needing both.”

* * *

 

“I see that you have been keeping everything in order since we set up this base Richard,” A masked man dressed like a panther was inspecting the Nightwatch computer system.

Dick nodded, “I can’t get tech akin to anything Wakanda and Asgard can produced anywhere on my planet or even my galaxy. I’m making sure that everything that you gave me lasts.

“Especially that armor we stole from HYDRA that one time?”

“Best gift you ever gave me Bucky. Now if you excuse me, I have to send out an SOS to every hero here on my planet since B-man is as stubborn as a bull and get the teleporter up and running.”

“If you have heroes here, why did you need us,” Pietro scoffed.

“I want this done as quickly as possible, plus I’m making sure that every here knows that you’re allies and not some sort of new villains or so. All I ask is that you contain, not kill. That goes double for the Extinction Squad and anyone who follows orders from Cyclops don’t think I don’t see ya’ll pretending to ignore me!”

“Imperius Rex! Your voice is grating on my nerves, Nightwing.”

“Namor count yourself lucky I even invited you, especially with that haircut.”

* * *

 

“So these are the Lazarus Pits. Why the Lords of Order did not destroy these abominations eons ago is beyond my understanding.”

Ra’s Al Ghul started a bit when a man in an orange cloak and golden jewelry appeared next to him, “Who are you?”

“You may call me Strange, and I know all about you Demon’s Head. Your reputation hides your true evil.”

“You seem like a rather skilled yet rude man if you have gotten past my guards to insult me.”

“And you act like the world should be yours for the taking. You who would condemn a son to a lifetime of hard labor. You who would be behind mass genocides and mysterious disappearances if something did not fit into your grand scheme. You who would leave your daughter in the hands of the Third Reich because she refused to give her family up to your cause! You who would sacrifice the life you’re your grandson AND son in order to gain immortality! No more! My fellow sorcerers and I are going to make sure that the life given by the pits can be used by you no longer and that the world sees just what kind of monsters truly lurk in your family! You may thank your remaining child for that!”

Ra’s mouth became a hard line, “Just _who_ are _you_?”

“I already told you, I am Dr. Strange, Sorcerer SUPREME!”

* * *

 

**“This is Linda Park-West with an urgent news bulletin! Within the last few hours there have been countless reports of new heroes appearing out of nowhere around the world and fighting side-by-side with the Justice League, Justice Society, and other well-known hero teams such as the Teen Titans. These heroes are proclaiming to be part of teams called the X-Men, Avengers, Heroes for Hire, Guardians of the Galaxy, and other unknown groups. According to the Justice League liaison Superman, these new heroes are friends of the infamous hero Nightwing, former protector of Bludhaven and one of the partners to Batman. From what reports say this is an out attack on the terrorist cell known as Leviathan, a small group that was mostly prevalent in third world countries before seemingly disappearing off the face of the Earth almost half a year ago. Information is coming into the United Nations as we speak about possible sleeper agents in every position of power around the world, including rumors about the cells true leader. Citizens are asked not to consume products sponsored by the list of companies on the left of the screen and featured on the new's main website. According to the Justice League, the terrorist cell is brainwashing the world via bio-warfare in the more poverty ridden and rural areas of the world by infecting food products with various drugs and mind altering substances. More details are coming to us as we speak. For now, here is Cat Grant with the weather.”**

_Please be safe Wally. Irey, Jai, and I still need you._

* * *

 Jason Peter Todd was not having a good night.

It was his second night of turning a new leaf as Wingman, and already he had been kidnapped and tied by the Leviathan Girl Scouts. He was maskless, utility beltless, and surrounded by trained assassins. It would take a while to get out of this predicament.

What Jason Peter Todd did not count on was Powergirl, Troia, and a muscular green beauty breaking into the compound and saving his sorry behind.

As Karen and Donna started to knock out and tie up his captors, the green lady started to undo Jason’s bonds, “You okay Jason?”

“Yeah, just who are you?”

“You can call me She-Hulk sugar. Dick sent me plus the other two to save you.”

“Tell him I said thank you.”

Karen rolled her eyes, “Just get your stuff Jaybird, we’re headed for Gotham.”

* * *

 

Cassandra Cain aka Black Bat was surprised when Connor Hawke, current Green Arrow and son of the fugitive Oliver Queen, appeared in Hong Kong to help her fight. She was even more shocked by two super-powered men taking down the Hog Kong based Leviathan leader and his Elite Guard as if it was just practice with her brothers in Gotham City.

Connor placed a hand on her shoulder, “The guy in yellow calls himself Powerman and the one in the gold and white is called Iron Fist. Nightwing sent them to help us take care of Leviathan. He worries about you a lot and says you need to come home more often to visit.”

Cassandra blinked, “I am more worried about these two being strong.”

“Apparently the one in the glowing pajamas punched out the heart of a dragon.”

“He is strong enough.”

* * *

 

Gotham’s Finest was on its last legs keeping the Leviathan supporters that were filling the streets when the Avengers designated for the city showed up.

Captain America led the charge with a resounding bellow of “AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!” while the Winter Soldier started firing tranquilizer dart into the crowd.

Hawkeye was shooting arrows equipped with nets to round up any stragglers or criminals attempting to take advantage of the chaos.

Hulk and Black Widow were taking care of the foot soldiers near the entrance of Wayne Tower and making their way up to where Talia was waiting for Batman with Red Robin and Batgirl’s assistance, “HULK SMASH NINJA!”

“I have no idea who the green guy in the purple shorts is, but I’m glad he’s on our side!”

Thor was shooting down any Leviathan based aircraft with righteous lightning, shouting “FOR MIDGARD!” as loud as his lungs would allow.

Tony was fishing Batman out of the bay.

“Seriously man, I thought you were supposed to be one of the World’s Finest. How do you get chained up inside a safe and thrown into the bay? Sounds like poor planning.”

Batman glared at the gold and black armored man, “Just who are you?”

“Name’s Ironman, founding Avenger, billionaire genius, and your son sent me to fish your sorry butt out of this debacle. Your psycho ex-girlfriend is waiting for us with a nuke so we gotta move- wait never mind. Commlinks just said that Superman and Nightcrawler took care of the nuke. Still gotta deal with the ex though. Let’s move out!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone thinks of a DC/Marvel Team-Up they want to see in the next chapter or so, please leave a review with it.


	5. Conversations

“You’re worried about your brother, aren’t ya kid?”

Damian looked over his second empty bowl of ice cream to Darcy before grimacing and nodding, “He’s going against Mother and Grandfather. I am… afraid for his safety.”

Darcy nodded, “Your brother is like that, willing to do anything to keep his friends and family safe,” She rose from her seat and led Damian over to one of the room’s large windows, overlooking Asgard, “So what’s the full story with your family? What Dick told me was a few fillings short of a full burrito.”

Damian allowed the corners of his mouth to rise ever so slightly at the analogy before becoming grim again, “Mother was not always the way she is now. Her sister, my late aunt Nyssa, kidnapped her and killed her. After that she used the Lazarus Pits to bring her back. Nyssa did this multiple times to get revenge against my Grandfather. She drove Mother insane. Mother was never the same after that; she became ruthless.”

“I have heard of Nyssa from Richard. Your Grandfather allowed Hitler and his Nazis to take her and her family, left them for dead in the camps because she loved them more than her own father. I can see where she comes from since Ra’s abandoned her mother just a little after Nyssa’s conception, but I agree that what she did was monstrous.”

Darcy leapt up when Erik strode into the room, dressed in his classic red and purple attire and holding his signature helmet under his arm, “You really need to learn how to knock Magneto.”

Erik shifted his gaze to Darcy, “Ms. Lewis, I wish to talk to the child alone please. There are some things that he needs to know, and there are things that a lady should not hear.”

Darcy stared at Erik for a few moments before leaving the room, “If you do anything to that boy, Wing will have your head.”

Erik closed the doors with a flick of his fingers, slightly startling Damian, “There is no need for the theatrics child, I was sure that my name gave clues as to what my powers are capable of doing.”

The elderly man sat down in the spot that Darcy had previous occupied, “I wish to help you reach your brother Damian. I have fought against and with Richard. He’s a man that comes once in a lifetime,” Erik tipped Damian’s chin up, “If you are going to help your brother, you cannot be hesitant in battle or it might cost you dearly.”

“Why are you here?”

Erik let Damian’s chin go, “I was a killer once too, as were my children.”

“For what reason did you kill? What was your purpose for killing? What is everyone’s obsession about what my Grandfather did in the second Great War? Why is Grayson such a big deal here? I see how everyone looks at you and my brother.”

“I am here to tell you some of the atrocities that your Grandfather helped come to pass in your world, how they occurred in my world, as well as what your brother went through during his visits here to help you understand why his evil can no longer exist,” Erik slowly pulled back a sleeve to reveal a serial number tattoo on his forearm, “I was about your age when this was put on me.”

* * *

 

Two portals appeared on either side of Dick as he walked down a stone hallway, “Are Talia and Ra’s secure?”

Access nodded from Dick’s right, “Yeah, they’re a bit tied up at the moment. Made sure to frisk them just in case they had weapons…they had many weapons.”

Dr. Strange chuckled from Dick’s left, “All of the pits have been neutralized, but their energy had to be deposited somewhere. Jean absorbed the energies.”

“Did she go Dark Phoenix the last thing we need is Dark Phoenix.”

“She is the White Phoenix of the Crown now, the most powerful and pure form a Phoenix host can take. She is redistributing life to your world as a “gift” from what she said.”

Dick stopped short, “Life… are you telling me that Jean-”

The Sorcerer Supreme nodded, “In fact, your friend Roy Harper is reuniting with his daughter Lian and your childhood friend Garth and his family are being welcomed back to Atlantis as we speak, as well as others.”

Dick barely choked out a sob. He had lost many friends over the years, with Lian and Garth’s deaths being some of the hardest to endure. He brought both Stephen and Axel into a group hug, “I don’t care if I die today, just knowing that a lot of people are going to be happy makes everything worth it.”

A jolt of energy between the three men caused them to push away from each other.

“What was that?”

“I don’t know.”

“We don’t have time for this, Talia and Ra’s are waiting for us.”

* * *

 

Damian was ashen by the time Erik was done with his tale, “Grayson… my brother fought like that? He almost became a monster?”

Erik nodded, “He was driven to the brink of insanity by the Phoenix Five, and the death of Charles Xavier only pushed him more to the brink. The only reason why he allowed the X-Men to join this fight was because of his friendship with members such as Kitty, Kurt, Jean, and Logan. He and Scott were friends once, but the situation with my daughter killed their friendship. To make matters all the more murky, Richard took it upon himself to look after Wanda after her breakdown and gave me an oath of loyalty while I was still on a watch list, though he did promise to take me down if I were to ever try and harm humanity while my daughter was under his protection. For a human, he impressed me.”

Damian shook his head, “This still doesn’t explain how Richard was able to come here. Why him and not the others from my world? They were involved in this “Amalgam” incident as well.”

The mutant grimaced, causing his face to reflect his true age, “You have to understand Damian, during the Amalgam incident your brother was fused with the hero Moon Knight, but instead of becoming one person, Moonwing was a set of personalities that consisted of Dick Grayson the civilian and the Marc Spector the hero. Since Dick’s personalities were never fully fused, he retained some memories of the incident along with the supreme forces of magic and order.

“From what Richard has said in our talks, Moonwing went into retirement for a while and pursued college after a run-in with the Green Skull, the fusion of my world’s Red Skull and your world’s Lex Luthor. Of course he resumed the mantle after the death of the second Moonwing, the Amalgam of your brother Jason and Deadshot from your world and the assassin known as Deathlok from mine.”

The former ruler of Genosha took a deep breath before continuing, “Damian, the Green Skull and HYDRA captured Moonwing and “treated” him the same way they “treated” me. To make matters worse for Moonwing, the one who oversaw his imprisonment was Madame Cat, the Amalgam version of Madame Hydra and Catwoman. The nightmares that Richard suffer from that incident make me want to track down the ones responsible for the Amalgam incident and show them what happens when you mess with someone who stands in my favor.”

Damian swallowed, “In my world, Catwoman was the closest thing that Grayson had to a second mother outside of Wonder Woman. Whoever was in charge of deciding the fusions of the incident had poor taste.”

Erik stood up abruptly, “The ones who call themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy are waiting for me, and it is our turn to join the fight. Would you like to come along? I am sure we can fix up some sort of uniform for you,”

The man held out his hand to the young boy. Damian took the hand with a firm grip and let Magneto lead him to a group consisting of a man, a muscular green man, a green woman, an angel, a masked blonde woman in a red and blue body suit, and a bipedal raccoon holding a flowerpot with a twig sticking out of it.

The woman in the red and blue body suit stepped towards them, “Sorry we weren’t here for the party kid. I’m Captain Marvel. Behind me are Star-Lord, Drax, Gamora, Angela, Rocket Raccoon, and the one in the pot is Groot. You’ll be partnered with Groot.”

“What is a Groot?”

“I am Groot.”

The raccoon alien shrugged, “Yeah, that’s all he really says so pay attention kid.”

* * *

 

Access and Dr. Strange guarded the only way out of the room while Dick walked towards the two assassins.

“It seems that I made a small error when I overlooked you boy. Of course, you never were one to flaunt your talents but let your actions through your fights build your reputations,” Dick was not surprised that Ra’s and Talia had escaped their bindings.

Dick gave a small ‘you-caught-me’ gesture to Ra’s as he walked up to the Demon’s Head and his daughter before stuffing his hands in his Hudson U hoodie, “My super-power is making friends and staying friends with most of the women that I have dated. It’s not an easy commodity when raised by the Batman of all people.”

“I would love to know what everyone was doing during your fabulous imitation of Batman. You claim to have allies yet when the news of your apartment and circus being attacked and razed to the ground, none of your so-called “friends and family” lifted a finger to help you in your personal time of crisis despite the incidents being broadcasted on every news stations across America and left you to the dogs that Bludhaven dared to call law enforcement,” Talia smirked, “Apologies, I forgot that you were once a part of them. More corrupt than Gotham’s Finest and kicked you out, didn’t they? Your precious dream job snatched from you, just as Damian will be snatched and returned to where he belongs, by my side.”

Dick raised an eyebrow, “You really need to stop breathing those Lazarus Fumes, your God Complex is almost as big as your Ra’s over here,” Dick lolled his head over the semi-immortal man, “And people say that Timmy has OCD have you ever changed your hairstyle my good sir?”

Ra’s narrowed his eyes, “Are we going to continue to mock each other into the next century or are you going to explain yourself? Each time you open your mouth fills me with the regret of not killing you when you were but a whelp.”

“I warned Talia a while back not to mess with my family and this whole Leviathan thing is the straw that broke the camel’s back so to speak,” Dick’s gaze turned back to Talia, “I warned you and your father about what happens when you mess with my family. Now you will pay the price. Every major crime you and your family committed is now being sent to the heads of every security force in every nation of the world that are not under your control. Your sleeper soldiers are being deprogrammed by my psychics and taken into custody. Your drugs are being neutralized by my friends in higher places. Mystics are draining the life energies of every Lazarus Pit in the world, including for the one your father put under Gotham during the time of colonization. Since its discovery by the League today, it has solved many a theory as to why everyone in Gotham is just two steps away from Arkham.”

Talia snarled at the man standing in front of her, “What of Damian? This debacle you have wrought will backlash against him as well!”

"I'm protecting the world from evil by starting at the root Talia," Dick smiled, “Let's just say it's a good thing that his mother is listed as 'Miranda Tate' on his birth certificate. You lost your chance to be his mother when you put that machine in his spine. Say good-bye to your Father's legacy for quite a while Talia. If there is anyone to blame for the fall of his supposedly glorious empire, it's you and your failure to cover all the bases. Good-bye Ms. Al Ghul, Ra's.”

There was a flash of metal as Ra’s made a move to stab Dick through the heart, but something blocked the sword from going through flesh, “Ra’s, you’ve been around for almost a millennium, of course you had a hidden weapon. Did you really think that I would come in here without some form of protection? I really have to thank Bucky for stealing this armor. Vibranium, best stuff-” Dick was cut off by a splitting headache, causing him to fall onto his knees from pain. The Dark Squire was heaved up by Access as Dr. Strange restrained the two assassins once again, “You might want to check yourself Dick, you got a nosebleed going on there.”

"Anyone got something for this headache?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here comes the supposed "end" of the League of Assassins, but I'm sure Ra's will bring it back in a few years. He created the Pits before using some random chemicals and he can do it again, but he will have to start his League from mostly scratch. Ra's doesn't go down that easily and he will show up in the epilogue. We also get the beginnings of the second arc for this fic where more of the DC characters learn of Dick's other life on Earth-616 and we see some more references of Amalgam characters. Also, I will be making a sequel to this story called Holidays with Heroes, which is self-explanatory.   
> Also in Batman: Arkham City Ra's reveals that there is a Lazarus Pit underneath Gotham's old sector which is walled off and becomes Arkham City during his level/Boss Battle.


	6. Chaos Ensues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had terrible writer's block with this one, so this just leads up to the next 'arc' or whatever. Enjoy.

Dick’s body shuddered as another wave of pain started to rise up. It started with a headache, now it had developed into a fever and racked his body with pain to the point that he could only find some comfort by curling into a ball.

“Richard you can’t do that, it’ll make everything hurt more later,” Stephen Strange attempted to stretch Dick out on the bed in the Batcave’s medbay with the help of Alfred Pennyworth, “We need to you to circulate your breathing. Curling up on instinct from the pain isn’t going to help.”

“I’m trying, but it hurts so much,” Dick croaked, “Not even being shot during the Crisis hurt this much.”

“Alexander Luthor shoots you with a laser gun that stops your heart for a full minute and slowly corroded some of your organs over time to the point that Tony and I had to clone and replace them and you’re saying that whatever caused this headache and nosebleed hurts worse?”

Alfred looked scandalized, “Master Richard, what do they mean about organ cloning and transplants?”

“Alfie now is not the time,” Dick’s shudders lessened to shivers now. His voice was barely a whisper now, “It feels like there’s something inside me.”

* * *

 

When Damian al Ghul first met Dick Grayson, he was jealous. This boy with no suitable pedigree had taken his place by his father’s side and was the apple of the hero community’s eye, his place in father's life.

When Damian al Ghul became Damian Wayne and then Robin, he learned to respect his mentor. He swore vengeance upon Thomas Elliot, who was posing as Bruce Wayne, for treating his brother like a trophy wife. He held his mentor during his nightmarish episodes after an encounter with Hugo Strange’s toxins. Damian was the one to stand by Dick Grayson's side when the rest of the family outside of Alfred had "abandoned" them during his father's adventure through the time stream.

When Damian learned that he had a clone and was being disowned by his mother, he felt a strange sense of relief; he would not have to choose between his mother and his brother.

Sometime after Bruce Wayne returned from the dead, Dick collapsed under the pressure that came with the cowl and returned to being Nightwing, making the occasional visit to Gotham to see his family, but mostly to check in on Damian.

Damian had to admit, Richard Grayson got him into some seriously weird situations.

The latest example was the current fight, where Damian had thrown the potted Groot at his clone/brother the Heretic. The twig in the pot had grown into a giant walking and raging tree person far larger than the Heretic, screaming the usual “I AM GROOT” every so often as a means of communication.

Red Robin could not help but stare at the ensuing fight, “What is going on here?”

“Nightwing was smart to befriend the plant alien.”

* * *

 

Thanks to a team up of Groot, Rocket Raccoon, Powergirl, and the returned Red Hood, the Heretic was subdued and taken into League custody. Gotham City was safe from the treachery of the League of Assassins for now and the world was permanently cleansed of the group known as Leviathan, or as the hero Falcon called them “HYDRA wannabes”, which earned many laughs from the mystery heroes.

Batman turned to his usually wayward son, “Why the name exchange?”

Before Red Hood could reply, Powergirl answered for him, “I thought that Red Hood suited him better.”

“I’ve returned most of our heroes back to their timestream. We don’t have to worry about there not being enough heroes to stop whatever Victor is cooking up,” There was a flash of light and before the saviors of Gotham City stood Access who had a look of horror etched on his face. His next words caused Batman’s heart to plunge.

“We got to get to the Batcave. It’s Nightwing. Something happened and now he won’t wake up.”

* * *

 

Access was not lying when he said most of the heroes of the other world had returned home. The only heroes not belonging to the world of the Justice League were the Young Avengers, Captain America, Winter Soldier, Falcon, Hulk, Daredevil, She-Hulk, Magneto, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Ironman, Iron Fist, Powerman, Spiderman, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Wolverine, and Dr. Strange. From the Justice League and other hero teams that Dick had called upon, outside the infamous ‘Batclan’ the cave also housed Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Kid Flash, Superboy, Wondergirl, Starfire, Arsenal, Tempest, Troia, and Catwoman. Lian was in a corner playing with Titus.

“How did this happen,” Captain America’s mask had been discarded for the time being and was now just Steve Rogers, “He was fine just a few hours ago. How could this have happened to him?”

Dick Grayson was hooked up to multiple machines, all of which looked out of place attached the usually vibrant acrobat. By his side sat the Winter Soldier on a wheeled stool, the man’s face covered by a set of dark googles and a face mask.

When Damian caught sight of the former assassin, he causally pushed the man and his chair aside before taking his place by his brother and bared his teeth whenever the metal armed man attempted to get near the comatose hero.

“I do not trust you with matter concerning my brother, Winter Soldier.”

Tim rolled his eyes, “You don't trust anyone.”

“Drake if you attempted to learn about Grayson and his life outside of the photos you used to take when stalking him then you would be wise to aid me in keeping the ancient hobo away from Grayson.”

“Master Damian!” Alfred sounded scandalized at the rudeness being shown to their guests while Jason was roaring in laughter.

“We can talk about personal rivalries later, right now we have to find out what is wrong with Dick,” The Scarlet Witch or Wanda, who was now dressed in casual wear, gave a worried glance to her friend, “There has to be some kind of explanation for all of this. Dick is not someone to go down so easily for anything. This cannot be a virus; I just have this feeling about it.”

“We cannot do anymore until Dr. Strange has finished with his diagnosis. Until then, I suggest that we leave him and Master Dick,” Alfred turned to the youngest in the cave, “That means you too Master Damian.”

Damian pouted, but eventually relented, “If I have to leave Grayson then so does Barnes!”

* * *

 

Everyone was now either sitting or standing in the main area of the Batcave, quietly chatting amongst themselves.

Steve was the first one to break the ice, “Dick has told me so much about you Superman. It’s a real honor.”

“Please, call me Kal.”

Stephanie took the hint, “So you can change into a giant green man when you get angry?”

“That’s my secret, I’m always angry. My cousin just stays green because of a blood transfusion.”

"It's nice to see hat we can all get along, but don't get too attached everyone," Tony stretched from his perch on one of the unused lab tables, “We're just waiting for Stephen to find out what’s wrong with Dickie, then we're taking him home to Avenger's Tower.”

Silence rang throughout the cave, only to be shattered by Cassandra Cain, “Excuse me?”

Bruce glared at the man, “What makes you think that you’re taking him from us?”

Bucky crossed his arms and shrugged, “Well, he likes us better. We don’t exactly murder on a dime or sell ourselves out to our arch nemesis for one.”

Tim stood up quickly, “I resent that!”

Jason clutched his helmet and was ready to chuck it at the brunette’s head, “Listen buddy, what makes you think that Dick would pick you over us?”

Damian turned to Bruce, “Father I suggest that you beat your former son-in-law during this challenge. Grayson depends on it.”

“…WHAT?”

The junior assassin pointed to the masked man, “He is Grayson's ex-spouse. According to the records Grayson initiated the divorce after that man broke his heart. I do not trust him.”

Jason blinked at this new tidbit of information, “Here I thought Goldie was into redheads.”

Bucky made a move to remove his goggles and mask, “This is how it went down. One moment I'm learning how to dance the Macarena at a May Day festival, one drink of hippie beer later,” By now Bucky had removed everything covering his face sans the black face-paint around his eyes, “and I'm in Avengers Tower wearing a flower crown waking up next to your brother.”

“…OH NO HE’S HOT!”

“Jason, Tim, focus!” Barbara hissed, “He’s staying here with us!”

“So you can break his heart for the fourth time? Better start a defense Ms. Gordon because we’re not going down without a fight,” Tommy Shepherd hissed back.

Roy raised his hand, “Uh before we play Conqueror of the Short Pants, can someone please explain to me the divorce? A lot of crap went down today and I’m still trying to make sense of my life.”

"Daddy, language!"


	7. Picking on Bruce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the DC crew sees just how their relationships with Dick differs from his relationships with the Marvel crew.

Clark Kent had a led a crazy life. He was one of the last of his kind minus his two cousins (one of whom was an alternate universe version of his cousin), his cloned son/brother, and his newly-returned adoptive son. For years he was known as the Man of Steel when in costume and helped Batman raise his children from the time that they were Robin, sticking by with Dick the longest.

The Avengers plus Lian had long since retired for the evening, given solace under Wayne Manor’s roof thanks to the courtesy of Alfred, leaving the remaining League and Titans members in the Batcave for their shifts with Dick’s comatose body. Any and all business related to their world could be spoken.

Right now Clark couldn’t help himself, “I’m guessing that right now is the worst time to say “I told you so’ Bruce?”

“Clark, shut up.”

“I’m just saying Bruce. This is twenty years in the making. First it’s taking away Robin and trying to keep him in the mansion and now this. One day you’re yelling at Dick for flunking out of college because he couldn’t balance classes, the Titans, and a suspiciously growing number of responsibilities as Robin because you got lonely and he’s not one to become a recluse like you-”

“Clark I swear to everything-”

“-And now he’s going to be taken by another team back to their world. I told you so. I told you he would lash out. Twenty years in the making. I helped raise him too. I would be a terrible friend not to milk this.”

“So help me Kent!”

Tim raised an eyebrow, “Bruce, is Clark implying that the reason Dick flunked out of college was because you tried to passive-aggressively forced him out of the Titans and back into Gotham? Didn’t you yell at him for that?”

“Tim, now is not the time-”

“Is the only reason I can go to college uninterrupted because of what happened with Dick?”

Silence was Tim’s answer for a few seconds before Bruce walked over to the medbay, clearing having enough of the conversation. Tim looked on with a rather shocked look.

* * *

Conner leaned over to Tim, “I told you that you were Bruce’s favorite.”

“Jesus. Tap-dancing. Christ.”

Jason raised an eyebrow, “I thought you were Jewish.”

“Non-practicing. We can talk about my religious views after we find out how to beat these Avengers and keep Dick.”

Damian gave a rather haughty smirk, “I will be able to provide the Avengers with enough of an argument as to why Richard should stay by myself, no thanks to the remaining peanut gallery, as I happen to know more about him than anyone else.”

Tim looked doubtful, “Really demon-spawn?”

“Just because you were his stalker doesn’t mean you know everything Drake,” Damian rolled his eyes, “I happen to know more than just the basics about Richard. I know how he grew up in the circus-”

“Everyone knows that,” Bart commented.

“-I know that he always visits his parents graves on their wedding anniversary-”

“I have gone with him a few times,” Kori piped up.

“I know that his favorite cereal is cornflakes-”

“Someone call the presses,” Conner snarked.

“-and I happen to know that Robin comes from the nickname his mother gave him as a child and that the original uniform was not only his circus outfit but was colored in his family’s colors. He even designed MY Robin uniform. Apparently his original Nightwing outfit is what his parents wore before he joined in their act.”

All was quiet, which made Damian feel a mixture of triumph and skepticism. He would understand Drake not knowing the significance, but the rest of Richard’s friends not so much.

Wally looked rather pensive before looking at Jason, Tim, and Steph, “Did Dick ever tell you this or did Bruce just give you guys the name and say ‘Have fun’ because he never told us.”

Bruce chose that moment to come out of the medbay, greeted by a wall of glares. He sighed, “Great, what did I do this time?”

Jason rose from his position of leaning on a table, “His mother’s name Bruce? Really? No wonder he hated me when we first met! I thought he hated my guts but no! He hated the fact that I took his name, not me!”

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. This was going to be a long night of shouting and glares.

* * *

 

Peter Parker sat on the roof of Wayne Manor, looking out at the stars. Dick had always told him about how Gotham air was so polluted that the citizens could barely see the stars and could only get a good look if you lived in the outskirts of the city aka Gotham’s illustrious ‘old money’ neighborhood.

“Room for one more?” Peter crawled over to the edge of the roof to see Jason Todd sticking his head out a window, “Can I get a hand bug-boy?”

Peter shot down a line at Jason’s chest and pulled the wayward bird up, silent the entire time. Jason took a seat next to the webslinger, “For someone who was said to be like Dickie-bird with the puns and all, you’re pretty quiet.”

“…My brain got swapped and he was the only one in the world to notice. He yelled at Cap about it and hit him over the head with the Cap Shield,” Peter’s shoulders shook, “I’ve lost a lot of people in my life, and Dick is my best friend. We’ve been through wars together Jason. I always thought he would die from old age of something, not some unknown coma bug.”

Jason took out a pack of cigarettes and offered Peter one, but he declined. Lighting up the cancer stick, Jason took a drag and let blew a puff of smoke out into the night air, “I get that he’s your friend, but he’s my brother.”

“A brother that you try and kill on a regular basis despite his latest attempt to help you,” Peter hissed, “He’d told me about how your family fell apart, how Bats fell apart, after you died, yet you think that means nothing. He beat the Joker to death once because the clown taunted him about your death. Sure he was revived via CPR, but it’s the thought that counts right?”

“Wait, what? This is the first I have heard of this.”

“Yeah, he broke the back of a robot Bane once too. Not surprising since usually he’s the first one to beat someone into submission. Beheaded a Red Skull robot on one occasion, but the sucker was asking for it when he and his Nazi Hydra platoon decided to go after some of Dick's students. If there is something we've all learned is to NEVER go after the twins.”

Jason slung an arm over Peter’s shoulder, “Please, tell me more about what you know about my brother. This is getting good.”

Peter shrugged, "Well, my tale begins how Dick was a SHIELD agent for a while before the SRA, Superhuman Registration Act, and ends with when he came back until the thing with Dark Phoenix Scott Summers died down..."


	8. In Which a Serious Turn Happens

Tommy Shepherd was not a patient man. He hated this world, he hated that Dick was in a coma, and he hated that everyone was way too slow coming into the Batcave to check up on Dick's condition. He lolled his head over to the general direction of Dr. Strange, "So Doc, what's the status of our bird and when can we take him home to Avenger's Mansion?"

Stephen seemed to ignore Tommy as he walked up to Access, "He got out Axel."

Access paled, "Please tell me you're not talking about him."

"I am sorry, but Dr. Strangefate has escaped and is the cause of Dick's coma. He must have jumped into Dick's body when the three of us came into contact before facing Ra's and Talia."

Damian did not looked convinced, "Just who is Strangefate?"

Erik looked down to the boy, "Remember what I told you about the Amalgam? Strangefate was the combination of Dr. Strange, Dr. Fate, and Charles Xavier. We thought that he was stuck in his own realm thanks to Stephen, but it seems that he has escaped and is attempting to bring about the Amalgam World once again. It is his goal, and we cannot let him succeed, especially using your brother."

Access sighed and rubbed his temples, "I suggest that everyone here start drawing straws because we gotta go into Dick's head to get him out."

Steve stepped up, "The Avengers and I can do this without the heroes of this Earth. Avengers take care of their own."

Clark crossed his arms, "The Justice League take care of their own as well. He's my nephew so my team will save him."

"Oh really? Just where was the so-called League when Blockbuster tried to kill him? We took care of him in the aftermath!"

By this point Jason was ready to just leave, "Look, I know that we all hate each other, but let's pick some of the heroes on each side and roll with that."

Teddy raised a hand, "I second this, but you need to pick people that can handle certain things. Dick was voted 'Nightmare Fuel' like three times in our world."

"I am so totally going and nothing you say is going to stop me. Replacement we have to see this."

"Again, why are you singling me out? You barely like me."

"Like you said before, you're my only friend... well aside from Spiderman."

* * *

After much deliberation, the team was drawn up. The Avengers going through with the Crusade we the members of the Young Avengers, Wanda, Steve, Bucky, Tony, and Peter. The heroes from the current world would be the Batfamily, Alfred, Clark, Conner, Bart, Cassie, Diana, and Starfire. Access and Stephen would stay behind to keep in check Dick's vitals and to suppress anything that Strangefate would try to attempt.

"I must warn you," Stephen began, "Dick's mind is not what you think it is. It will not be a colorful world, but rather a reflection of everything that he has endured. I suggest that you prepare for a warzone."

"How bad?" Cass inquired.

"His mindscape will reflect evertyhing. Every good memory, every bad memory, every dream and every nightmare. I suggest that you do not split up no matter what happens." Stephen then glared at Bruce, "I suggest that you take heed Dark Knight, for I have a feeling that this will not end well for you in particular."

"The amount of positive reinforcement everyone in my cave is giving me is astounding."

"Most of the time he came to visit us was therapy after something you pulled or said," Luke Cage pointed out.

 "You speak as if everyone else did not do something to traumatize him. It's not all my fault."

"So you admit that you have traumatized him?"

"Shut it Rand."

"Will everyone going into Richard's mind please get in the circle?"

* * *

 

 The layout in Dick's mind was not a circus tent like most had expected, but pre-No Man's Land Gotham City minus all of the people and cars and such. Everyone looked around to see that they were standing in a park with a dog statue nearby.

"This must have been the park before Ivy took over to take care of those orphans," Tim mused.

"Drake, just who is this dog called Ace?" Damian was pointing to the statue's placard.

Jason wandered over and smiled, "Now that I think about it, whatever happened to Ace?"

Barbara, Tim, and Bruce looked uneasy, which left Alfred to answer for them, "Unfortunately, Ace was in the Batcave when the earthquake hit Gotham. I am afraid to inform you Master Jason that he was crushed by a rock. Master Dick was heartbroken."

Jason turned away from the statue, "He was an old dog. Dick had him ever since he was a kid right? I mean, the mutt was pretty old when I first met him. Stupid Bathound."

"Bathound? He went on patrol with you?"

Tim sighed, "He was 16 years old. He had a good life."

Damian turned to Bruce, "Is that why you got me Titus?"

"The fact that I got Dick a dog and you a dog are not correlated Damian. Not everything I do to you and your siblings is because I apparently 'messed up' when I was raising Dick."

At this point Peter cocked his head, "Did you forget about the college thing?"

"Enough with the college thing! I get it! I... messed up with the college thing!"

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I brought Ace up in this chapter because after the No Man's Land thing, we never saw Ace the Bathound ever again.


End file.
